Model Railroading > A Scale Sound Systems SP SD9e

Decided to dive into modeling my favorite SP locomotive with the latest Loksound equipped Walthers SD9e I bought some time ago. An SP SD9e is like a Lays potato chip. You just can't have one, so this is the first of a few. I wanted to correct some of the things that I didn't like about the locomotive and add a few parts to make it a bit better. So I corrected the light package with correct size lights and confirmation for 4371. Added a better antenna fixture, notched the front and rear pilot for cut lever access, armrests, plated rear number boards with five thousandths styrene. Added jacking pads being careful not to interfere with truck pivoting. 
After getting these parts on and painting some of the parts, I decided to figure out how I was going to install the two Scale Sound Systems speakers I bought SKU: LLPR-SD79+5940
What I ended up doing was cutting the speaker housing down to the level of the top of the motor. Moved the decoder board forward to make room for the speaker under the radiator fans, and use the cab area for the small speaker. The hardest part is cutting the weight down, but was easier with a mill or drill press with X-Y table. You could probably do it with a fine hack saw and bastard file, but it would take some time.
wanted to give props to SSS website for info and directions as I invested in some of the two sided Duct tape and it works great for holding speakers in place.
https://www.scalesoundsystems.com/_files/ugd/7e84c8_d6bab614c0e54126a3bc22209c675142.pdf
lots of good info on this PDF.
photo one is the correct front lights installed 
photo two is comparison of light size with the Details associates
photo three is showing the speaker weight cut down.

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Photo four is the weight glued together with epoxy and filled with extra weight in cavity 
photo five is rear view of light package per SP GRIP out shopping standard 
photo six is final configuration of speakers and wiring.
still have room for plugging in light wiring. Plan on using Athearn LED bulbs 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/23/23 23:50 by dmaffei.

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Then it was time for a test run up of that wonderful 567 prime mover Mr D's machine sound ...
These speakers are an incredible upgrade. Thanks Scale Sound Systems !
Link to video on my channel https://youtu.be/pKGrHBiZti4
Track n Time 

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Now that is a terrific sound!

Dave 

Wow, great work Dave. Can you program the sound so that the units loads (makes the transition) before the unit moves? It seems that's the way I remember the 567B geeps. Am I right? But it sounds great!

Victor Baird

wabash2800 Wrote:
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> Wow, great work Dave. Can you program the sound so
> that the units loads (makes the transition) before
> the unit moves?
Victor
absolutely, for the video I just locked the drive hold on lowest speed and notched up 10 steps at a time. I removed all the momentum on this unit, 
Yes, the Lokprogramer has a setting for exactly what you asked. Sound of throttle up on prime mover before motion of locomotive. 
These sounds bring back some good memories 👍

Yes they do Dave. Very nice job, they sound great.

I agree Dave! I grew up on hearing many geeps or covered wagons in operation. And I miss the sound of the GE FDL engine too. If you heard that but couldn't see the train, you knew what the power was.

Victor Baird

Holy Crap that is to cool!!!!!!!

Robert Morris
Dunsmuir, CA
Robert Morris Photography

Nice work. I reworked one of my Walthers Proto SD9E locomotives a few years ago. Still need to work on the other one.

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

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Nice work on the SP Cadillac.  I eventually need a few for my layout, one of these years.  That's the SP I grew up with!

Nathan

Very good! Walthers SP lighting has been driving me crazy since day one and is at the top of the list to be fixed once I get past most of my scenery faze on the layout. Can't go wrong with SSS speakers.

Nice work Dave, looks and sounds great.

Also used the LokSound and Sound Systems combo on my P2K SD9's, easy-peasey drop in fit but the details are not quite as good.  There's a few different LokSound files for different 567's, works great.
t4p.

TCnR Wrote:
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> Not to steal any thunder but here's how the P2K
> SD9 conversion looks. LokSound 21 Pin Decoder on a
> Decoder-Buddy mother board with two Sound System
>

Hey neighbor, 
No thunder stolen! I'm having a blast talking SD9 here. I don't know what sound file Walthers used, but it may be this one we talked about on this board a bit ago in the screenshot.
I was blown away by how good it sounded compared to the original round speaker it cam with. 

Still need to finish 4371, but may keep the chassis "idling" on the test track for motivation while finishing the shell. I have more SD9Es to finish. Thinking my lumber train needs them. 
Modeling to me is bringing back the trains we enjoyed in favorite era. If it's 50 years ago, why not the sounds as well? 
Thanks for the praise. Sharing here to motivate others. Hopefully it got you thinking about the one in your photo.
Dave

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Fantastic Dave!    I swear it sounds just like the real thing!
Question, who knows what the "ticking" sound is coming from on the real ones?   Heard in the video at the very beginning and very end.   Always a trademark EMD sound.

Jason Eminian
Smith Brothers Hobby Center
Northridge, CA.

Fizzboy7 Wrote:
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>  Always a trademark EMD sound.
>
> Jason Eminian
> Smith Brothers Hobby Center
> Northridge, CA.

Hey Jason 
Glad you asked. So the person who would definitely know on TO is hotwater. 
I believe what you're hearing is the air compressor driven off the engines crankshaft. It's controlled by a governor when air pressure is needed. Located in rear of locomotive. The other sound you can hear as the engine speed increases, but is hard to hear unless you listen closely is the traction motor blower. This is an air cooling system for the traction motors. You couldn't hear this at all with the factory speaker.

I'm not a subject matter expert but did work on trucks my entire life so I understand a bit about mechanal things. Corrections are welcome.

Hope to drop in to the shop on our next southland trip

Dave

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Great stuff, Dave! I've got two of these WKW SD9Es in the queue after a 45T and SD40R. Look forward to seeing and hearing yours at La Mesa next trip!

-Rick

Rick Selby
Redmond, WA
Pacific Northwest RPM

I bought 2 of the Proto SP SD9Es from the most recent run by Walther's. One is factory sound, the other dcc ready. Nice to know how to improve the sound.

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